Vehicle body



R. LUCIE-N VEHICLE BODY Dec. 7, 1948.

4 Sheets-Sheet l Filed May ll, 1944 @Naw/M..

Dec. 7, 1948. R LUCIEN 2,455,429

VEHICLE BODY Filed May 11, 1.944 n 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 In Us orf R677@Lwca'en Filed May l1, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheel'. 3

Dec. 7, 1948. *n R, LUClEN" 2,455,429

VEHICLE` BODY 1153 MJ/ff@ Y 160 Rene Luc/en Dec. 7, 1948. R. LUcxENVEHICLE BODY Filed May 11. 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Dec. 7, 1948oFFlcEf" VEHICLE BODY Ren- Lucien, Farnham Common, .England ApplicationMay 11, 1944Serial No. 535,128 In Great Britain March 15, 1943 3 Claims.

This invention comprises improvements in or relating to vehicles, It isa purpose of the present invention to provide a strong and rigidconstruction of vehicle. It is a further purpose of the invention toprovide a construction which is adaptable for being built in .sectionsfor ready assembly.

According to one feature of the invention a vehicle comprises incombination a body in the form of a tube of cruciform cross-sectionwhich constitutes the main structural element of the vehicle and anengine, wheel mounting and control units each adapted for separatemanufacture and attachment to the body.

Preferably each wheel unit is constituted by a base-plate and springsupporting means for an individual wheel, so that any wheel, completewith its supporting means and base-plate, can be readily attached to ordetached from the crucitorm tubular body, the place of attachment beingin one of the angular recesses formed between the underside of one ofthe horizontal arms of the cross and the vertical arm.

With a vehicle constructed as described, entrance and exit are bestprovided by doorways in the centre at the front and rear ends.

lThe tubular body of the Vehicle'may be in several sections which areadapted to t together end-to-end, the front section containing thecontrols, the central section containing seating accommodation or forother load and the rear section containing propulsive mechanism asdescribed for example, in co-pending United States patent applicationSerial No. 535,127, led May l1, 1944, now Patent No. 2,425,948, grantedAugust 19, 1947.

The following is a description, by way of example, of one constructionin accordance with the invention.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the vehicle with a portion'of the centrebroken away to show internal construction;

Figure 2 is a cross-section upon the line 2--2 of Figure l;

Figure 8 is an exploded diagrammatic section illustrating the essentialcomponent parts of the body;

Figures 4 and 5 are details;

Figure 6 is a side elevation, and

Figure 7 is a plan of the suspension means for the rear driving wheels;

Figure 8 is a side elevation, and

Figure 9 is a plan ci the suspension means for the front steeringwheels;

Figure 10 is a perspective view of a part of the body showing certainalternative features;

Figure 11 is aldiagram of the linkwork of the suspension means for thewheels showing 'how the suspension means on opposite sides ofthe Vehiclemay be linked together to provide antirolling properties in thesuspension. The vehicle comprises a front section I I, a central sectionI2 and a rear section I3. The front and rear sections are provided withwheels I4, I 5 and are adapted to nt on the ends of the central sectionsby joints indicated at I6, Il, Figure 1, The joints comprise locatingmembers I8 on the front section II4 to enter sockets in the centralsection I2 and locating members 2B on the central section toentersockets on the rear section I3. In addition there are a'number of lugs22 on the front section whichV carry bolts 23ste enter lugs 24 on thecentral section, these bolts being capable of being securedby nuts 25.The connection is suchas to be capable of transmitting tensile andcompressive stresses at the top and bottom and to render the vehiclerigid as a Whole. If the projection-of the lugs 22, 241s objected to, analternative construction `is shown in Figure 10 of the drawing in whichthe screw means for uniting the sections of lthe body are incorporatedin the locating bolts, "as hereinafter more fully described. In Figurel, the central section is shown as a passenger-carrying section havingside Windows 26, upholstered seats 21 and a central passage 28 (Figure2) from end to end. This section is provided with supportingjacks 29 atthe four lower corners so that it can be temporarily supported from theground at an appropriate height when disconnected from the end sections.The central section I2 will normally be parallel-sided and of the sameheight from end to end. Y

The wheels I4 of the irontv section are steerably mounted upon theiraxle and are connected to a steering wheel 3D. The drivers seat 3| islocated in this section. The front section I I, is curved so as to havea more or less streamlined nose and its sides are shaped to conform withthe shape of the section I2 at the joint I6. In addition to the normalrunning wheels Il! a pair of castor wheels 32 are provided mounted onextensible struts 33 pivotedat |33. The struts33 f are constructedsimilarly to the shock absorbers of aircraft undercarriages and areprovided with retracting means for retracting them into :the section I Ior letting them down to the ground into the position shown in chainlines in Figure 1.V -The details of the struts and of the retractionmechanism may be similar to that adopted on aircraft and do not requireto be described in connection with the present invention. The castorwheels 32 can be let down into contact with the ground to support thenose end of the section II when it is detached from the section I I andto permit the section to be wheeled about in the detached condition.

The rear section I'3 is similar in general shape to the front sectionbut instead of containing steering mechanism it is provided with anengine (34 shown in dotted lines in Figure 1) connected i through a gearbox and differential to the rear driving wheels I5. The details of thisarrangement may be, so far as the gear box and differential areconcerned, constructed in accordance with ordinary automobile practice.

wheels 35 mounted on shock absorber struts 36 similarly to the wheels 32and struts 33 of the front Asection II and as before the wheels can beretracted into the section when desired. Engine and gear box controlsare provided which can be coupled to connecting means passing throughthe central section I2 in a hollow space 3'I in the floor of the centralpassageway 28 and thence to control devices at the drivers seat 3l.Similarly brake control connections extend from the rear wheels I5through they central section to a brake pedal in the section II4 by thedrivers seat. The engine control and brake control connections are madereadily detached 'at the joints I6, I'I. For the purpose of theseconnections any known form of remote control mechanism can be adopted,either by connecting rods which can be united together by removable pinsor rightand left-handed screw-threaded connections or by electricalcontrol wires or by hydraulic pipe connections such, for example, asmight be em ployed in a hydraulic distant control.

When the sections II, I2 and I3 have been coupled together andthe'castor wheels 32, 35 have been retracted and the jacks 29 whichsupport the central sectionv I2v lifted clear of the ground, the vehicleis capable of travelling like an ordinary passenger coach', Vas may bedesired.Y A door 40 for access to the interioris provided in the frontof the section I I in line with the central passage 28. The door 40co-operates with a hinged step portion 4Iand is shaped to conform withthe rounded nose of the section I I. Preferably it is capable of beingopened by a hydraulic jack 42 under the control of the driver. Y

The section I3 is provided with a somewhat similar curved door 43capable of being opened by a hydraulic jack 44 andco-operating with ahinged step portion 45. Thus a passeng-er may enter at the front andleave at the back of the n vehicle.

The body of the vehicle I2 is built up, as can be seen from Figure 3 ofthe drawing, from sheet metal sections which are constituted by sidemembers 50, 5I united by an intermediate flat tubular member 52 at'thebottom and a similar member 53 at the top. When united together thesesections afford a rigid tubular body of which the member 52 provides thefloor 62 with the hollow space 31 for the control connections enclosedwithin it. The member 53 constitutes the roof of the central corridor 28and has an air duct 54 enclosed Within it.v The outline of the body iscompleted by curved sections 55 at the bottom which ll out the cornersand aord storage space for luggage which is closed in by doors 56(Figure l). Similarly at the top there are curved roof sections 5l whichenclose luggage space 58 to which access may be gained by hinged doors59. The seats 21 rest on plat- `forms 60 formed from the side members 5Iof central passage 28 extends right through the vehicle.

' As can be seen from Figure 1 the end sections II and I3 containplatforms which constitute continuations of the platforms 60 but whichare upcurved at 63,- 64 so as to rise over the wheel. The platforms 64in the rear section I3 rise to a height sufficient to cover the engine34. The nose section II has a central oor to its passage whichconstitutes an extension of the oor 62 at the same level. In the rearsection I3 the central passage is provided with steps 65, 66 to enablethe floor to rise over the engine 34 and the steps 66 are continuouswith the hinged steps 45 when the latter are lowered,l as shown inFigure 1.

The air duct 54 through the roof of the central section I2 communicateswith an air intake 10 in the front section II and it leads to adownwardly curved air passage 1I in the rear section I3, The air passageII is defiected laterally so as to avoid obstruction of the centralpassageway 28 and it delivers air to an air conditioner beneath acowling 12 which is located in the rear section I3 on the air-intakeside of the engine. The

' conditioner delivers air to the engine and also ventilation air to thevehicle, the latter through ducts II5, II6 vand ventilators II'I.

On the termination of a journey, or a portion thereof, the end sectionsIl, I3 can be detached from the central section I2 and they may beeither coupled to another central section for the return journey orwithdrawn for servicing or coupled together to constitute a shortcomplete vehicle to return unloaded to its starting point, as more fullydescribed in United States Patent kApplication Serial No. 535,127, ledMay 11, 1944.

` It will be observed that the central passageway 28 is a well definedfeature of the construction which extends right through the vehicle andthat it is marked out by the vertical sides of the portions 50, 5I ofthe tubular body I2 whichconnect the platforms 60 with the floor member52 and which extend downwardly from the roof member 53. When the parts50, 5I. 52, 53 ar-e united together and the partitions 6'I, 68 areprovided the construction becomes exceedingly rigid and capable oftransmitting the body stresses without a separate chassis.

This tubular main-.construction of the body is built up from light-alloysheet metal and it will be observed, as viewed in cross-section, it iscruciform. The whole of the parts can readily be built up in a works ofthe kind in which light sheet metal work is carried on, such as, forexample, aircraft body works. The remaining portions of the vehicle,namely the propelling mechanism of the wheels are necessarily of aconstruction which requires castings, forgings and machining operationsand which is naturally adapted to be manufactured in works of adifferent type, but these other parts are made in unit form for easyattachment, one by one, to the body. These facilitate assembly and alsorepair.

Each of the wheels'is independently sprung.

The cruciform tubular form of construction already described for thesection I2 is continued forwardly into the nose and rearwardly into therear section |3 and the before referred to vertical walls which areunited to the floor 52 form attachment panels for the suspension of thefront and rear wheels I4, I5. The suspension of the rear wheels is shownin detail in Figures 6 and '7. Here a plate |20 which supports thesuspension is adapted to be bolted to the aforesaid vertical walls. Onits outer face it carries a large bearing boss |2| in which is a bearingfor a driving shaft |22 which is castellated and is adapted to slideinto a hollow internally castellated driving member on the gear box ofthe `engine 34. Thus by unbolting the plate |20, the

` driving shaft 22 can be drawn out and the whole ofthe rear Wheelsuspension on that side of the vehicle will come away as one unit.

Above the boss |2| is a transverse lug |23 and below it is a secondsimilar transverse lug |24. Through these lugs pass hinge pins |25, |26which support upper and lower suspension links |21, |28. As can be seenfrom the plan, Figure '7, the links |21 are double-sided and the sidesare united by a web |29. A similar web |30 unitesthe sides of the link|28. The ends of the links |21, |28 carry hinge pins |3|, |32 whichsupport a bearing boss |33. Supported on ball or roller bearings in theboss |33 is a stub axle |34. The stub axle |34 is connectedl by auniversal joint located in the boss |33 to a transmission shaft |35 andthe transmission shaft |35 is connected by a universal joint located inthe boss |2I to the driving shaft |22.

The lower link |28 is spanned from side to side by a pivot pin |36 andthe pivot pin supports a fork I3`I which straddles the shaft |35. Thefork is bolted rby bolts |38 to a head |38 on the lower end of thepiston rod |40 of an oleo-pneumatic shock absorber |4I. The shockabsorber is supported at its upper end by a ball joint in a head |42 ofa bracket |43 extending upwardly from the plate |20. It will beunderstood that `the details of the universal joints referred to and ofthe shock absorber |4I, including, of course, the appropriate iniiationmeans for the absorber, do not, in themselves, form any part of thepresent invention and may be constructed in accordance with ordinaryengineering practice.

By the means described the rear wheels are independently sprung and eachwheel and the suspension mounting therefor is readily detachable fromthe vehicle as a whole. rlJhe wheels are, of course, mounted onappropriate hubs se cured to the stub axles |34.

In like manner the front wheels I4 are independently sprung. Themounting, shown in Figures 8 and 9, comprises a platev |50 to be securedto the vertical wall rising from the'iioor level of the entrance behindthe door 40 and beneath the upcurved portion 63v of the vside platformin the front section On the plate are lugs I5I, |52 which support pivotpins |53, |54 on which are hinged an upper link |55 and a lower link I56. As before the links are doublesided and the sides of the upper link.|55 are united by a web |51, while the sides of the lower link areunited by a web |58.

The outer ends of the links |55, |56 may carry pivot pins |59, |50 whichsupport a forging I6| extending between the links. The forging |6| isring-shaped with lugs at the top and bottom to embrace the pins |59,|60. It also carries forwardly projecting lugs |62, |63 and throughthese `aperture in the ring-shaped forging |6| vto ball joints |10 on across bar |1| pivoted at |12 to an arm |13 extending upwardly from thelug |5| on the vbase plate |50. The hub of the cross bar |1| where it ispivoted to the arm |13 carries a steering arm |14. The steering armpasses through an aperture |15 in the base plate I 50 and is providedwith a ball joint |16 which will be located in the vehicle inside thevertical vwall which `extends upwardly from the floor of the centralpassage. The ball `joint |16 is intended for connection by appropriaterod work and gearing to the steering wheel 30 already referred to.Disconnection of the steering at the ball joint |16 is easy andtherefore the front wheel suspension can readily be removed from thevehicle as a whole unit on one side or, on the otheras the case may be.

As with the rear wheel suspension, the lower link |56 carriesa cross pin|80 on which is pivoted the head I8I of a piston rod |82. The piston rod|82 is bolted to a sliding member |83 of the shock absorber |84similarly to the absorber |4| of Figure.6. The shock absorber |84 isconnected by a ball joint |85 to a bracket |86 extending upwardly from.the base plate |50.

Thev details of the construction of the sheet metal tubular body are notwholly shown vin Figures 1 to 3. It will be appreciated that they arecarried out in accordance with the ordinary principles of sheet metalcellular construction as commonly adopted for fuselages of aircraft andlike cases. It is necessary that the cornersof the side vmembers 50, 5|of the tubular body should be appropriately strengthened and thatthe-sheet should be properly stifened. Some of these details are shownin Figures 4, 5 and 11 ofthe drawings. Figure 4 shows a portion of theupper part of the side member 5| at the corner where it is bent upwardlyto -provide a vertical wall 25| which joins the hollow roof member 53.Here the internal angle is strengthened by a longitudinal stiffener 252which is of zigzag formation (as shown) in section. Similar stiffeningmembers are applied at other corners. For example the air duct H6already referred to is constituted'by the outer side walls and by astiffening member 253 (Figure 5). Y

In addition the plaform and the floor of the upper luggage spaces 53 arestiiened by transversebridge-section members 254 and the vertical wallsby bridge-section members 255. The luggage spaces 58 are preferablysubdivided by appropriate web members Vwhich connect the outer roofpanels 51 Awith the vertical walls 25| and the horizontal portions ofthe luggage space together.

Similar web members are disposed in the bottom luggage spaces above thedoors 56.

These and further details are shown in greater elaboration in Figure 10which shows a vehicle slightly modied. in shape as compared with Figurel, but substantially of the same construction as is shown in that figureand in Figure 10 similarY partsare lettered with lthe same referencescrewthreaded. These sections to indicate the internal construction andthe following special features, most of which are obviously applicableto Figure l, also are shown in the drawing:

At the joint I6, between the central section and the nose section theconical locating members i8 are-mounted so as to enter sockets in thenose section H and they are made rotatable. At the root portion of thelocating members I8 they are screwthreaded externally as shown at andthe sockets in the nose section are similarly locating members aremounted in a stiffening plate |02 which forms the front portion of thebody section |2 and they have heads on the other side of the plate |02by which they can be rotated. As a result, when4 the nose section ispositioned against the body section I2, on rotating the locating membersI8, the two parts are screwed together and the external nish is flushinstead of being marked by a number of lugs and nuts as previouslydescribed. In this instance the supporting jacks for the central section|2 are made in pairs which are hidden in the base portions of standards|03, |04 located one each side of the central passageway 7.8. The lowermovable portion of the supportingV jacks is mounted on two rods |06 ateach end which are united by a cross-bar |01. The crossbar is lowered byhydraulic pressure applied to the jacks by appropriate connections whenthe parts are to be disconnected from oneanother.`

asimilar arrangement is provided at the other end of the body I2.

' In order to stiffen the sides of the vehicle the sheet metal of theseparts is longitudinally corrugated as indicated at |08. The metal of thebottom' part of the vehicle may also be corrugated as shown at |09. Atintervals along the length of the body between the windows 26 there aretransverse frame members ||0 which serve further to stiffen theconstruction and the luggage spaces are stiffenedby ribs I I, I I2, II3, and by brackets ||l|.

VThe `air entry 10 is used to convey air to a Vconditioning plantlocated in the rear section lI3 from which the air is redistributed tothe interior of the vehicle by the conduits H5, ||6 located in the topupper corners of the body above the seats.'

Figure 11 of the drawing shows a device which may -be adopted to limitany tendency of the' vehicle to roll while traveling. In this iigure thelinks |55, |56 of the suspension of Figures 8 and 9 areshown in outline,connected to the ringshaped member I6| and the steering member |62. Thesteering rods |69 are also indicated and the shock absorber |84. Thecorresponding parts of the suspension on the opposite side'of thevehicle are also shown. The upper links |55 are, according to thisfigure, provided with lugs 4|90 which carry ball joints |9|. Each of theball' joints |9| are connected by a link |92 to a second ball joint |93and the ball joints |93 are carried on an anti-rolling lever |94 whichis pivoted to the vehicle at |95, |96, and has two arms extendingrearwardly to the ball joints |93. The anti-rolling lever |94 extendsacross the vehicle from side to side and is made of such diameter thatit has a certain resilient yielding quality which permits the wheels toyield inde- Vpendently to a limited extent but in 4the event of a heavyrolling motion of the vehicle which .would cause the suspensionon oneside to yield much more than the other,the anti-rolling device transmitsstress from 'the side which is more 'compressed to the other side of thevehicle and vehicle, if so desired. l

Iclaim:

1. A wheeled road vehicle having an elongated body shell constructed ofsheet metal and comprising va main beam-like structural member in vtheform of a tube of cruciform cross-section for substantially its entirelength, the supporting means for said body disposed adjacent the endsthereof leaving the long intermediate portion of vthe body unsupportedexcept by the self-sustaining beam structure of the body itself, thevertical arms of the cruciform cross-section of the body enclosing acentral passageway for the vehicle, and the laterally extending armsproviding space for the pay load, the top and bottom walls of the-central space provided by the vertical arm of the cruciformcross-section of the body being hollow and box-like in section toprovide spac'es extending substantially the length of the vehicle.

.2. A wheeled multi-passenger bus or the like having an elongated bodyshell constructed of sheet metal and comprising a main beam-likestructural member in the form of a tube of cruciform cross-'section forsubstantially its entire length, the supporting means for said bodydisposed adjacent the ends thereof leaving the long intermediate portionof the body unsupported except by the self-sustaining beam structure ofthe body itself, the vertical arms of the cruciform cross-section of thebody enclosing a central passageway for the vehicle wherein passengersmay stand erect, Aand the laterally extending arms providing seatingspace of a much less height, the top and bottom walls of the centralspace provided by the vertical arm of the cruciform cross-section of thebody being hollow and boxlike in section to provide ducts extending thelength of the vehicle.

3. A wheeled road vehicle having an elongated body shell constructed ofsheet metal and comprising a main beam-like structural member in theform of a tube of cruciform cross-section for substantially its entirelength, the supporting lmeans for said body disposed adjacent the endsthereof leaving the long intermediate portion of the body unsupportedexcept by the self-sustaining beam structure of the body itself, thevertical arms of the cruciform cross-section of the body enclosing acentral passageway for the vehicle, and the laterally extending armsproviding space for the pay load, the right angular recesses formedbetween the side walls of the lower downwardly extending vertical arm ofthe cruciform crosssection of the body and the lower walls of thelaterally extending arms of the body cross-section providing convenientspace for the disposition of said body supporting means, the top andbottom `walls of the central space provided by the vertical arm of the`cruciform cross-section of the body beingvhollow and box-like insection to provide spaces extending substantially the length of thevehicle.

REN LUCIEN.

(References on following page) REFERENCES CITED The following referencesare of record in the file of this patent:

Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Anderson June 11, 1901 OstranderJuly 10, 1906 Graham et a1. Feb. 16, 1909 Brown June 24, 1919 BrainerdJan. 1, 1924 Fairbanks July 19, 1927 Fornaca May 7, 1929 Wright May 14,1929 Henninger Sept. 8, 1931 Smith Apr. 3, 1934 Charles May 26, 1936Thompson Feb. 23, 1937 Martin June 22, 1937 Number Number

